{"id":35305,"date":"2020-07-25T19:16:54","date_gmt":"2020-07-25T23:16:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/?p=35305"},"modified":"2020-07-25T19:20:22","modified_gmt":"2020-07-25T23:20:22","slug":"ron-roenicke-confidence-andrew-benintendi-rafael-devers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2020\/07\/25\/ron-roenicke-confidence-andrew-benintendi-rafael-devers\/","title":{"rendered":"Ron Roenicke Shows Confidence In Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two of the youngest stars on the Boston Red Sox<\/a> have started the abbreviated season on a bad note. Through two games, left fielder\u00a0Andrew Benintendi<\/a><\/strong> and third baseman Rafael Devers<\/a><\/strong> are a combined 0-18 with nine strikeouts. Slow starts have a much larger impact in a 60-game season, but manager\u00a0Ron Roenicke<\/a><\/strong> isn’t worried about the two youngsters.<\/p>\n

Ron Roenicke Isn’t Worried About Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Through the first two games, Benintendi and Devers have hit in the first and third spots in the lineup, respectively. Even with the offensive onslaught from Game 1, this isn’t a sustainable model for success. However, Roenicke is confident that both players will get over their slumps sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n

Roenicke blames the early struggles on a desire to “press” during the early part of the season. The first-year manager noted that both players were “swinging the bat well” in camp, and both guys have a track record of successful major league play.<\/p>\n

Devers reportedly struggled with weight during the four-month COVID-induced baseball hiatus, but Roenicke says conditioning isn’t an issue. Devers is chasing an abnormal amount of outside pitches, which Roenicke chalks up to a desire to force a hit. In time, Roenicke says, this issue will correct itself.<\/p>\n

Benintendi, meanwhile, just got unlucky. Roenicke says he sees signs of life in Benintendi’s game and specifically referenced an at-bat in Saturday’s contest.<\/p>\n

“He hit one line drive, you think all of the sudden he got his first hit but a guy was standing right there. They’ll both be fine”<\/p>\n

Rafael Devers is coming off an absolute breakout 2019 campaign. As the full-time third baseman, Devers recorded a .311\/.361\/.555 slash line with a corresponding 132 wRC+ and a 5.9 fWAR in 702 plate appearances. Benintendi, meanwhile, is coming off a relatively disappointing season. While not bad by any means, most expected him to be better than his .266\/.343\/.431 slash line.<\/p>\n

Main photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>